LOS ANGELES – A proposal for a guaranteed income pilot program to provide monthly payments for approximately 1,000 of the County’s poorest residents for three years is under consideration by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The motion put forward by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Sheila Kuehl would provide this basic monthly income for a three year period.

According to the motion, the county chief executive’s office would have 60 days to establish a plan for the guaranteed income pilot program. The Los Angeles Times reported that the County would need at least $36 million to finance its program as proposed in the motion.

“We must fundamentally shift the idea that people who face financial insecurity have somehow failed, and instead recognize that it is the inequity and lack of access built into our economy and government assistance programs that have failed us,” Mitchell and Kuehl said.

The details on participant qualifications and other details have not been worked out. The Board is set to vote on the motion next Tuesday.

“A guaranteed income program provides households with financial stability during sharp economic swings, alleviates stress and broadens recipients’ horizons,” Mitchell and Kuehl said. “Importantly, these programs come without the scrutiny and work requirements of programs such as welfare and food stamps.”

This motion comes following the new citywide, anti-poverty proposal by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti that would give cash — without any obligations — to thousands of city residents in the coming months which was reported in April by the Los Angeles Times.

Garcetti’s $24-million Basic Income Guaranteed program would provide $1,000 a month to 2,000 Los Angeles families for a year. There will be no obligation on how to spend the money, according to the mayor’s office.

The motion reads in part:

“Long before the dual pandemic – both public health and economic – caused by COVID-19,
the United States’ (U.S.) and Los Angeles’ economies have been plagued by instability, much of it caused by staggering levels of inequality. As we endeavor to create a more resilient economy and Los Angeles County (County), we must explore guaranteed income and other measures of poverty alleviation as permanent County policy, not just as an emergency measure to help with this crisis.

The coronavirus crisis has heightened and made more vivid what was already clear to
many: the inequities in our economy have been a matter of life and death for many of our most vulnerable County residents. Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, the safety net failed to address the structural issues that have been keeping many children and their families trapped in poverty.”

Directly relating to the motion put forward by Mitchell and Kuehl, in the Fall of 2019, the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law published a study that disclosed that LGBTQ people collectively have a poverty rate of 21.6%, which is much higher than the rate for cisgender straight people of 15.7%. There are those who are head of single-person households and have children reflected in that grouping.

Addressing the negative economic impact specifically in terms of housing costs that the coronavirus impact has had with the County’s LGBTQ community, speaking last Fall with journalist Karen Ocamb, Supervisor Kuehl noted;

“I think LGBTQ people have suffered greatly in the pandemic because we always were more vulnerable as a group, in terms of our revenue income, our ability to thrive,” Kuehl said. “I think we should be very concerned about each other as a community and making certain that people can stay in their housing in these very difficult and dangerous times.”

BURBANK – In the wake of an in-depth investigation into the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organization responsible for the Golden Globes by the Los Angeles Times, which revealed a lack of racial diversity among its voting members and various other ethical concerns, NBC Universal announced Monday the network would not broadcast the 2022 Golden Globes ceremony.

This past February ahead of the HFPA’s 78th Annual Golden Globes ceremony, HFPA board chair Meher Tatna told Variety magazine that the organization that the organization of international journalists which covers the film, television, and entertainment industry has not had any Black members in at least 20 years.

Actor Sterling K. Brown,  a Golden Globe winner and two-time nominee, posted to Instagram; 

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A post shared by Sterling Brown (@sterlingkbrown)

Criticism of the HFPA, which puts on the Globes and has been denounced for a lack of diversity and for ethical impropriates, reached such a pitch this week that actor and superstar celebrity Tom Cruise returned his three Globes to the press association’s headquarters, according to a person who was granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the decision, the Associated Press reported.

“We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right,” a spokesperson for NBC said in a statement.

“As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes,” the spokesperson added. “Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”

NBC’s decision comes as Vogue reported that the backlash to the HFPA came swiftly and decisively. Some of Hollywood’s biggest studios, including Netflix, Amazon, and WarnerMedia, announced they were severing ties with the organization until efforts were made to increase diversity and stamp out corruption, while a group of more than 100 of the industry’s biggest PR firms released a statement in March in which they pledged to boycott the ceremony for the foreseeable future. 

The HFPA did not immediately respond to inquiries by media outlets requesting comment about NBC’s decision.

In February, the organization said it was “fully committed to ensuring our membership is reflective of the communities around the world who love film, TV, and the artists inspiring and educating them.”

“We understand that we need to bring in Black members as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible,” it said.

HFPA also announced a full timetable through this summer for implementing promised reform initiatives in response to NBC’s decision.

“Regardless of the next air date of the Golden Globes, implementing transformational changes as quickly — and as thoughtfully — as possible remains the top priority,” the HFPA board said in a statement. “We invite our partners in the industry to the table to work with us on the systemic reform that is long overdue, both in our organization as well as within the industry at large.”

WEST HOLLYWOOD – The Abbey is one of the most well-known gay bars in the world, its fame and endurance owes everything to the business savvy and ambition of its founder, David Cooley. The nearly 30-year old Weho institution began as a cake shop and cappuccino bar in 1991. After withstanding the brutality of the AIDs epidemic and the instability of the 2008 recession, the economic impact of the Covid crisis almost shut down the LA landmark for good.

Its owner, David Cooley, sat down with the Blade reflecting on the difficulty of the past year and the excitement of the years to come. 

Once upon a time in the 90’s, Cooley was working at Wells Fargo when one of his clients came in and told Cooley about how he had started a coffee shop. “I studied his business and thought, ‘I can do the same’” Cooley said. He bought a small dry cleaning joint, appropriately  called Pride Dry Cleaners, starting off with an espresso machine and a few cakes.

He stayed there for three years, establishing his presence in the neighborhood and becoming friends with the surrounding businesses. It was then that the landlord across the street, a friend and fellow gay man, asked if Cooley would like more space to expand his coffee shop. The new building is what is known today to be The Abbey.

Over the years, Cooley’s new coffee shop added beer and wine, then a full bar, and then a dance floor – constantly evolving, growing and improving. Like a game of Monopoly, Cooley steadily bought more and more square footage, and then finally bought the real estate. In 2017, he added the very popular sidebar, The Chapel as an expansion of The Abbey. Now in 2021, he oversees The Abbey, The Chapel, The Abbey Within (a chic new sidebar, with an intimate feel) and Out on Robertson – his latest venture with the City of West Hollywood. 

Out on Robertson transformed a block of Robertson Boulevard into a pedestrian zone, giving the surrounding businesses a boost. The block between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue will be closed to cars each weekend. It’s been a big success for The Abbey and many of the neighboring spots, with long lines in front of every business.

Cooley was instrumental in making the new project happen. “I waited 6 hours at the City Council meeting to give my support for Out on Robertson” he said. Robertson is one of several West Hollywood street blocks under construction right now, with a new park opening up in September. 

One of Cooley’s reasons for launching Out on Robertson was “to beautify the neighborhood. I’m staring at construction, I’m staring at boarded up buildings and nothing is going on,” he said. Cooley told the Blade he had considered semi-retirement before the joint project, but the possibilities brought on from Out on Robertson re-sparked his appetite. 

The Abbey is an institution, in many ways it’s a small city. Pre-Covid, with dancers and security, there’d be well over 300 employees on any given weekend night. These days, not including dancers or live performers – who were only recently allowed outside – there are at least 180 people on the payroll.

He credited his staff as the reason for The Abbey’s success, and its strength during these difficult months. “We run our business as a family business,” Cooley explained, “my average staff person has been here for almost 20 years. It’s difficult to know your employees are not working since so many rely on their tips. It’s challenging not having the unknown known.”

The past fifteen months have kept Cooley and his employees on their toes, they’ve opened and closed four times, sometimes with only a few hours of notice. “Twice I didn’t think The Abbey would make it. I didn’t think we would make our 30th anniversary, and that hurt me a lot,” he reflected.

Thanks to the astounding strides The Biden Administration has made in issuing vaccinations, Cooley and some of the other WeHo businesses are at long last allowed to breathe a bit easier.

Like many others in West Hollywood, Cooley optimistically listed the exciting new developments around town. “It shows life,” Cooley said, “people are so excited to get back on the dance floor.”  Updates arrive almost every hour from go-to gay bars such as Motherlode, Trunks and Revolver, to new spots on the strip like Stache or Lance Bass’ untitled mega club.

Cooley’s thoughts on Lance Bass, and Bass’s own game of Monopoly? “I’m proud of him. And I’m happy to see signs say ‘leased’ not ‘for lease’.” By the fall, perhaps The Abbey will be able to return to once again throwing some of the most lavish parties in West Hollywood. 

(Photo courtesy of David Cooley)

The Abbey celebrates its 30th Birthday this September, it’ll be a party to remember.